NO PEACE

US Peace Institute Lays Off Staff After Dramatic DOGE Standoff

USIP employees have been fired from their positions.

The U.S. Institute of Peace is conducting layoffs after a dramatic faceoff with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this month. On Friday, five employees reported receiving termination letters effective immediately and told Politico that they believe the firings are organization-wide. The dismissals come after Trump’s administration sought to overhaul the agency, with Trump dissolving most of the institute’s board and firing nearly all of the members. On March 17, Deputy White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly posted on X that the remaining three members—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and President of the National Defense University Peter Garvin—removed the president and appointed Kenneth Jackson in his place. She called previous president George Moose “a career bureaucrat who wants to be unaccountable to the American people.” Soon after, Jackson and members of the D.C. police snuck their way into the building despite staff resistance. The security contracting firm that let them in said DOGE had “threatened all of their federal contacts if they did not permit entry.” DOGE’s attempt to take over the USIP may have lasting repercussions for relationships overseas as the Congress-funded nonprofit promotes conflict resolution mechanisms and works toward global peace.